Volcanos in Nicaragua
With 5 volcanos in Nicaragua there have been a total of 5 significant eruptions over the past 500 years. Over 2,000 people were killed. The worst volcanic eruption in terms of deaths, destroyed houses and financial damages happened on 10/30/1998 with the eruption of "San Cristobal". Here, 1620 people died.Out of 12 volcanos in Nicaragua, 10 are considered still active.
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Significant volcanic eruptions in Nicaragua in the last 500 years
The following list shows all volcanic eruptions of the last 500 years with significant damage. The column "VEI" stands for the volcano explosivity index, which represents the strength of the eruption from a geological point of view. This takes into account the height and volume of the rocks ejected. The scale ranges from 0-8, with the severity of the eruption increasing tenfold with each value. For example, a VEI of 1 means that the volcano throws lava and rock masses of 100,000 to 1 million cubic meters up to 1 kilometer high. From VEI 8, a volcano is considered a super volcano. Here, more than 1,000 cubic kilometers of tephra are thrown to altitudes of more than 25 kilometers.The highest explosivity index in Nicaragua reached in the review period was VEI 5 in 1835. The volcano Cosiguina threw tephramasses of at least 1 cubic kilometer over 25 kilometers high. Such a volcano normally only reaches this intensity every 50 years.
| Eruption | Volcano | VEI | Deaths | Total damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/30/1998 | San Cristobal | 0 | 1620 | |
| 09/27/1996 | Maderas | 0 | 6 | |
| 04/10/1992 | Negro, Cerro | 3 | 11 | |
| 01/20/1835 | Cosiguina | 5 | 0 | |
| 01/01/1570 | Mombacho | 0 | 400 |
All volcanos in Nicaragua
| Volcano | Elevation | Status | Last eruption |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cerro Negro | 675 m | Active | |
| Chichigalpa | 1592 m | Solfatara stage | |
| Concepcion | 1610 m | Active | |
| Cosiguina | 859 m | Active | 01/20/1835 |
| El Viejo | 1745 m | Active | |
| Hervideros de San | 140 m | Solfatara stage | |
| Las Pilas | 938 m | Active | |
| Masaya | 635 m | Active | |
| Mombacho | 1345 m | Active | 01/01/1570 |
| Momotombo | 1191 m | Active | |
| Santa Clara | 834 m | Potentially active | |
| Telica | 1010 m | Active |
These statistics are based on datas from the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program (GVP), and the Significant Volcanic Eruptions Database of the National Geophysical Data Center (NOAA) / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS) doi:10.7289/V5JW8BSH. Several data have been summarized and translated.
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